september 14, 2011 daily sundial
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September 14, 2011 Daily SundialTRANSCRIPT
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VOLUME 53 ISSUE 11 • A FINANCIALLY INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER
Dorm burglar goes to courtasHleYsOleY-cerrOliVE nEWs EdiTOR
The arraignment for former CSUN student accused of burglarizing 22 dorms between Oct. 2010 and April 2011 has been postponed until Oct. 17.
Christian Hunter-Shep-pard, 20, was arrested July 20 and charged with five
counts of residential bur-glary and one count of pos-session of a loaded hand-gun, found in his car dur-ing a police search, said Christina Villalobos, CSUN public information officer.
Hunter-Sheppard’s law-yer, Andrew Lund, request-ed the arraignment be post-poned to review any evi-dence the police may have.
Police claim Hunter-Sheppard confessed when he was arrested, but Hunt-
er-Sheppard said he has not signed anything and is not involved, Lund said.
“We all watch court TV, we know forensic evidence capability, if you have a confession, why wouldn’t you have a recording?” Lund said.
Police connected one person to nearly two dozen burglaries because the bur-glar would prop open the front door with furniture or a chair, theoretically, so the
burglar would hear if some-one came in the room and get away by jumping out of a window, Lund said.
“Even (if you could argue) my client is guilty, which he is not, to use that as the connection is stupid,” Lund said. “That’s burglary 101, any stupid fool would figure that out, it’s not a signature.”
His attorney maintains Hunter-Sheppard’s inno-cence but the defendant has
not yet given an alibi for where he was at the time of the burglaries.
“I have not spoken with him about an alibi, I like to get all the evidence before we have an in-depth con-versation,” Lund said.
Police obtained a war-rant in July to search Hunter-Sheppard’s Reseda residence, Villalobos said. Police found a stolen laptop after the owner, who has a tracking device installed,
reported the theft.CSUN police have ques-
tioned if Hunter-Sheppard could be connected to the increase in burglaries beginning September 2010, Villalobos said. There were 19 reported burglaries in Fall 2010, and 13 in the Spring semester.
Additional charges could be filed if more vic-tims come forward or more stolen property is found, she added.
MarieLa MoLiNa / Visual Editor
Graduate student senators ela Heinz (left) and Donna randolph (right) are at the associated students meeting in the Grand salon at the usu on Tuesday. randolph explains why her class schedule conflicts with the hours a.s. senators are required to devote to the senate.
Grad student representation in jeopardyiVeTTe lOpeZdaily sundial
emotions ran high at Tuesday’s Associated Stu-dents (A.S.) meeting after the board failed to pass an amendment that would allow graduate students to leave meetings an hour early to accommodate class schedules.
Standing rules require senators to be available from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesdays for their meetings, unintentionally excluding some graduate student representatives
whose classes start at 4 p.m.
“I can’t serve (stu-dents) effectively because you can’t allow me to go to class and that’s where the students are,” said Donna Raldolph, one of two graduate senators and the only one with a sched-ule conflict.
Originally the pro-posed measure called to suspend the standing rules for this school year exclu-sively for Randolph.
If the current rules are left unchanged, Randolph would have to give up
see a.s. page 2
Less pay for minorities Race, ethnicity still stronger forces than degree or level of education
cHrisTOpHer HOdaily sundial
M inorities, particu-larly African-Americans and Latinos, earn less income even with college degrees as opposed to their white or Asian colleagues, according to a recent study by George-town University’s Center on
Education and the Workforce.“I’m not surprised because
we’ve known this for a long time, in part because of stereo-typing,” said Dr. Karin Stanford, department chair for Pan African studies.
White professionals earn about 20 times that of African-Americans, and 18 times that of Latinos, according to 2010 U.S. Census data.
As of 2009, on average, an
African-American household owned about $5,700 in assets and Latinos held around $6,300, as compared to the typical white household that held $133,000 in possessions, according to the Pew Research Center.
The recent economic down-turn and housing bust only added to the gap between eco-nomic and racial classes, noted the Georgetown report.
The stagnant economy, high
unemployment rate and pay-scale cut backs are not help-ing matters, and hitting minority workers hardest, according to the Georgetown study.
The report identified four major rules that adversely affect pay.
Degree level matters, accord-ing to the report, which noted those with higher education typi-
see MinOriTies, page 3
“i’m not surprised
because we’ve known this for a long time, in part because of stereotyping.”— Dr. Karin StanfordDepartment Chair for Pan
African Studies
“i think it all comes down to education. i believe that
anyone can attain the best salary for any job, regardless
of race.”— Jon Chavez
Geography alumnus
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All Members of the Cal State Northridge Community are invited to speak with the team from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) as part of the University’s
10-year re-accreditation visit.
CSUN’ s self study, the Educational Effectiveness Review, is available online at:
http://www.csun.edu/~instrsch/wasc/index.html
Meeting Schedule Thursday, September 15, 2011
1:15 - 2:00 p.m. Open meeting with faculty
ED 1214/1216
2:15 – 3:00 p.m. Open meeting with students
ED 1214/1216
Scan this QR code to access the Educational
Effectiveness Review on your smartphone
CSUN’s Reaccreditation Visit
2 NewsSeptember 14, 2011 • Daily Sundial • CSUN • [email protected]
Tessie Navarro / Visual Editor
One of several network switches in a telecom room in Manzanita Hall helps in directing network traffic from and to users on campus. The access points on campus connect to these network switches.
CSUN hot-spots to get hotter by 2012BrauliO caMpOsdaily sundial
students will be even more connected after CSUN adds 400 wireless access points during the Fall semester.
Hardware, licenses and installation cost about $1.4 mil-lion in one-time state general funds and campus quality fee dollars, said Danita Leese, IT executive analyst.
Costs associated with the project include hardware such as controllers, cabling, licenses, installation and the wireless access points themselves, Leese said.
New points of entry for wire-less communication between the
campus network and students’ computers will be added inside academic buildings and the Ovi-att Library, and are expected to be complete by January 2012, Leese said.
CSUN has about 400 access points already installed and will be activated throughout the Fall semester, Leese said. Adding the additional 400 points will bring CSUN’s total new points to just under 800.
All academic, administra-tive buildings, housing, outdoor common areas and portions of parking lots have coverage, Leese said.
More access points in student gathering spaces, such as study rooms, hall-ways and corridors increases
performance, she added.This mean more students
can access the wireless network within a given area, increasing density, or the number of stu-dents able to connect on a single access point, Leese said.
Students complained campus Internet was slow loading during the first weeks of the semester, but IT officials said the wire-less network has not reached its 16,000 simultaneous-user capacity.
The network’s busiest time is the first week of the semester, Leese said.
But even during this semes-ter’s busy period, only 7,000 unique users were logged into the network, she said.
Students have noticed the
ebb and flow of wireless cover-age on campus.
“Certain areas on campus are better than others,” said com-munication disorders major Gurleen Bedi, 18. “Obviously, inside the buildings it’s better than the outdoor lawns.”
In addition to expanding cov-erage, the IT department moni-tors and fixes problems using feedback from its help center.
CSUN has a dual gigabyte connection to the Internet, meaning there are two different paths to campus from service providers AT&T and the Cor-poration for Education Network Initiatives.
If one path fails, traffic is automatically routed to the sec-ond connection, Leese said.
her senate seat or drop out of her cohort, a program that assigns students their schedules, which cannot be changed.
“I would ask the board
to allow this senator to complete her obligations,” said Senator Pamela Mnyandu. “It should be allowable and acceptable.”
Senators reacted with mixed reviews. Although some agreed with Mnyan-du and Randolph, others said if senators left early
students would be poorly represented.
“It’s difficult to be con-sistent and perform well without being present,” said Sen. William Ryder.
President Amanda Fla-vin recommended a new proposition targeted to all graduate students and not
solely for Randolph after the original proposition failed 14-5.
Fifty minutes and two recesses later, senators struggled with the lan-guage of the amended pro-posal, claiming it violated A.S. constitution.
“Isn’t it better to have
partial than no representa-tion at all?” said Donovan Heine, education senator.
Flavin ended discussion after senators continued to amend the proposal.
“I made the choice because it was a round-about discussion,” said Flavin. “It didn’t create a
good use of time.”Randolph left the meet-
ing early to attend class.“There was a motion in
effect and all they did was go around,” she said.
A.S. will not revisit the issue unless a senator drafts a new proposal by Thursday at noon.
a.s.Continued from page 1
COLLEGE ADS5" x 7"
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11 T
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News 3September 14, 2011 • Daily Sundial • CSUN • [email protected]
cally earn more than those with less.
“Today’s master’s is yester-day’s bachelor’s,” said Johnie Scott, Pan African studies pro-fessor.
Jon Chavez, 23, said some statistics may show unequal pay between races because these groups do not have the same financial resources available to them.
“I think it all comes down to education,” said Chavez, geog-raphy alumnus. “I believe that anyone can attain the best salary for any job, regardless of race.”
A student’s major could affect how much they earn because certain fields do not pay as much as others, Stanford said.
“I knew right off the bat when going to grad school, that I wasn’t going to be making as much (with my chosen degree),” Stanford said.
The Georgetown study noted a person’s degree level may not be vital to how much they earn. Those with less education could work higher paying jobs if those jobs are deemed more essential.
For example, about 14 per-cent of high school graduates earn more than those with a bachelor’s degree, according to the report.
Recent UCLA graduate Wendy Quiñonez, 23, said she noticed minorities tend to gravi-tate to fields such as humanities or liberal arts, while other groups study math and sciences, fields
that tend to pay more.Quiñonez said she was one
of three Latinos in her econom-ics classes, but her political sci-ence courses were more ethni-cally diverse.
Earning a degree is still the most important factor in deter-mining how much a person will earn, according to the George-town study. But race, ethnicity and gender are wild cards that could trump a person’s degree.
Business managers with bachelor’s degrees earned about $2.7 million in their lifetime, about $700,000 more than their degree-less counterparts. Blue collar workers make nearly half, about $1.7 million in their life-time.
White workers, regardless of their education or profession, are ahead in terms of wages, the report noted.
For example, whites who earned a bachelor’s degree are earning up to $2.5 million dol-lars in their lifetime, according to the Georgetown study. Whites are followed closely by Asians who earn $2.3 million, and final-ly by African-Americans and Latinos who earn $1.9 million in their lifetime.
Recent graduates tend to focus primarily on obtaining a paycheck, Quiñonez said. Because that is of higher prior-ity, graduates understand there will be time for them to work their way up the pay scale.
But Stanford said working minorities from first generation families may not have the oppor-tunities or experience, such as interviewing skills, to work their way up.
Many minorities live in com-munities where there is little to no economic opportunity, according to a report by the Joint Center for Political and Eco-nomic Studies.
Stanford said there is still hope, however, but only with continuing research, publicity for the issue and connecting it to people’s lives.
“There won’t be any major change until we recognize that race matters,” Stanford said. “It still matters.”
MinOriTiesContinued from page 1
USU GR Poker TournamentTime: 4 p.m. – 5 p.m.Where: Games Room, USUDescripTion: Compete against other students in a tourna-ment of poker for the final championship spot.
14 September
Calendar of Events
15
USU Matador MallTime: 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.DescripTion: Our Matador Mall Vendor Fair brings a venue of wares that may not normally be readily available to stu-dents. Items sold include vintage clothing, messenger bags, guitars & other music equipment, skateboards, surf boards surfboards, posters, jewelry, hats, scarves, and other arts & crafts.
USU Noontime ConcertTime: 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.Where: University Student Union Palaza Del SolDescripTion: Featuring Hopeless in Paradise.
AkiRA kurosawa Retrospective, hosted by Prof. Tim HalloranTime: 7 p.m. – 9:45 p.m.Where: Armor Screening Room
DescripTion: Stray Dogs
USU Craft CornerTime: 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.Where: Plaza del Sol, USUDescripTion: Australia: Clean Up The World Day - Cotton/Polyester Glove decoration
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4 NewsSeptember 14, 2011 • Daily Sundial • CSUN • [email protected]
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KATHERINE O’NEILLDAILY SUNDIAL
Anxiety, family tragedy, home-sickness and the need to vent are some of the life stresses students may need professional support to pull through a semester.
High demand and under-staffing have forced the University Counsel-ing Center to limit the number of per-student visits to eight, said Mark Stevens, counseling center director and psychologist. Stevens added the limitation makes it possible for coun-selors to reach more students.
“But depending on the case, some may be in need for more help, so we may provide them with a few more (sessions) so they won’t feel left on their own,” Stevens said.
Overwhelmed students who have not reached their session limit may run into another problem: making an appointment.
For students who cannot make
an appointment at the center, alter-natives exist, such as yoga classes, working out at the fitness center, sup-port groups and workshops, which have no visit limitations.
Solving an issue is not a quick, easy solution, Stevens said.
“It’s a process,” he added.After visiting the counseling cen-
ter, biology major Adam Sabbagh said he could have solved some of the struggles on his own.
“If there was no limit set, people will go in and out for issues that might be solved individually without wasting the time of the counselor because of congestion,” Sabbagh said.
CSUN counselors may refer stu-dents to off-campus clinics if they think the student should continue receiving support, Stevens said.
Students are referred to affordable clinics, he added, with some charging as low as $15 per session. Students may request a list of local clinics from CSUN’s counseling center.
Managing mental health on campus Campus Voice MARY PHAM/
DAILY SUNDIAL
How do you deal with stress?
GABY GUIDOFINANCE
“Well usually when I become too stressed out, I shut everything out. Take a day off and do something calming, like go to the beach or
park. Something that doesn’t make me think of what is going on.”
TYREE AMEYTHEATRE
“I love listening to music and sometimes when I listen I just
dance! It relaxes me. I like a little bit of everything, from jazz, hip-hop and occasionally to old school R&B
and rock-n-roll.”
FRANCISCO PEREZBUSINESS LAW
“There are many different ways I deal with stress. Working out,
like running to clear my head, or outdoor activities, like hiking or bike riding. Those help me relax
and feel free from school and work stress, giving me a clear mind.”
September 14, 2011 • Daily Sundial • CSUN • [email protected] 5
OpinionsSeptember 14, 2011 [email protected]
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animal rights activist group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) doesn’t know the distinction between promoting their cause and assaulting consumers with propaganda. Previous PETA campaigns encouraging con-sumers not to support com-
panies who test products on animals and threw red paint on innocent passersby wear-ing fur.
At heart, PETA has a good mission: Stop animal cruelty. However, the way they go about achieving their goals is bombarding consumers and potential donors with graphic images. Some campaigns have been more innocuous, but in past years, PETA has become overzealous in their methods.
The non-profit organization has plans to create peta.xxx, a porn site made to lure traffic before assaulting the viewer with images of skinned and killed animals.
“Shock advertising is where you try to shock consumers in order to make an impact,” said Dr. Mary Curren, chair of the marketing department. “It is used to cut through the ad clutter and grab your atten-tion. We are bombarded with so
much information on a regular basis that we have to filter what information or stimuli we will consider.”
PETA has taken issue with many groups and companies that practice less than humane practices toward animals, such as the fur and meat industries. Information about these and more disturbing facts, as well as graphic photos and videos, are on PETA’s website. They encourage product boycotts,
petitions, and involvement with animals.
But PETA is nice to their supporters, who don’t receive images of disfigured and mis-treated animals. Rather, the people they want to convert to the cause are the recipients of both ire and images.
“They have good intentions, but the extreme ways they pro-mote and show awareness is a little over the top,” said Jennifer Cheung, a CTVA senior who has been a vegan for six years. “Instead of getting respect from people, they make vegans and vegetarians look bad at times by their extreme tactics.”
Cheung agrees with their mission but not their methods.
“Most dedicated vegans
do not like PETA,” she said. “There are many other web-sites and organizations out there that promote the edu-cation and animal cruelty awareness in non-violent and extreme ways.”
PETA does not know where to draw the line between effec-tive advertising and assaulting. Though they have good inten-tions, their strategies are deter-rents and only serve to make the public dislike the organiza-tion.
Excessively graphic images and tactics only serve to lessen PETA’s integrity. If someone is looking for animal porn, they will not be scared away by pic-tures of mauled and disfigured animals.
rachel coStahauDedaily Sundial
a homeless Fullerton man was beaten by police on July 5 and died sev-eral days later.
Fullerton police approached Kelly Thomas because he fit a description of a reported burglar in the area. Police began beating Thomas after he attempted to flee.
In a viral video capturing the incident, Thomas is heard screaming for his dad as more officers join in on the beating. Many people witnessed the act and a cell phone beating of the video was posted on Youtube.
Locals described Thomas as a gentle
man and were shocked that the police went to such extreme measures. Howev-er, Thomas was diagnosed with schizo-phrenia, which may have complicated the confrontation, making the police feel the needed to use more force.
The incident might not have been pre-ventable if it was a psychological matter, said Ellis Godard, sociology professor and crime expert. When approaching a person, police take precautions to protect themselves from any potential threat.
It’s impossible for police to always assess each person, especially in an emergency situation in which police must act quickly to protect themselves and the public.
It seems impossible to completely eradicate excessive violence by police.
There is no way of controlling someone from deciding to partake in a beating frenzy. But preventative measures can be taken in an effort to reduce police brutality.
Mandatory counseling sessions for every member of the police department would potentially release tension that a police officer may have bottling up inside.
Although some members of the police department may be reluctant to divulge their personal feelings, full cooperation should be required if the person wishes to continue to work for the police department.
The counseling, although seemingly directed towards the members of the police department, is ultimately for the protection of the public. That is, after all, the purpose of the police force.
peta porn won't deter meat eaters
Police use excessive force more often than they should
IllustratIon by: Gabriel ivan----- Orendain-necOchea
Letters should be no longer than 300 words. Students must include their full name, e-mail and contact number, and major. Faculty and staff must include position and de-partment. All other submissions must include relationship to CSUN (i.e. alumni, parent). Letters written on behalf of a CSUN club or organization must be signed with student names. Individuals may not have more than one letter published within a one-week period. Anonymous letters and those attacking the writer will not be published. Letters that do not contain contact information will not be published. You will be contacted if your letter is a can-didate for publication.
Letter PoLicy
September 14, 2011 • Daily Sundial • CSUN • [email protected] 7
What is Sudoku?It’s a global sensation! Sudoku is a number-placement puzzle that is mentally challenging, easy to learn and highly addictive. Within the game, no column, row or box can contain a repeated number, hence the name. How to play: Fill in the grid so that every row, every column, and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 through 9.
Solution above.
Say you saw it in the Classifieds!
announCementS tutoring
The Daily Sundial does not knowingly accept advertisements that discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, religious preference, national origin or sex.
The Daily Sundial accepts no responsibility for claims in or re-sponse to advertisements placed in the paper. Be cautious in answering ads, especially when you are asked to send cash or provide personal or financial information.
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Solution to today’s sudoku
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis
FOR RELEASE SEPTEMBER 14, 2011
ACROSS1 Wasn’t renewed7 Fiend’s tail?
10 Biographicaldatum
13 World Cup chant14 They’re “high” but
not dry16 Little shaver17 *“The Music Man”
number19 Ginormous20 Early computer21 *Sweet stocking
stuffer23 Not quite a
compulsion25 W-2 info: Abbr.26 Perceptive30 Predecessor of
33-Down34 *Lead singer in
No Doubt’s hit“Don’t Speak”
37 Bee fore?38 Plate in a park39 Took by the hand40 Aptly named
movie channel41 Ernst
contemporary42 *Instrument using
rolls46 Grab ahold of, as
an idea48 Cross to bear49 Trivial amount50 Sandbox sight52 *Seven-time
Grammy-winningjazz singer
56 Tibetan capital61 Showy wrap62 Words in a
classic gameshow that can befollowed by theends of theanswers tostarred clues
64 Lumber tree65 Geological time
division66 Fare-minded
one?67 Family pooch68 Command to a
67-Across69 WWII fleet
DOWN1 Prime seating2 Rickman of Harry
Potter films
3 Prefix with meter4 Miso bean5 Extracts6 Place to relax7 Hoops legend
Thomas8 Penn of “Milk”9 Like computer lab
learning10 Goya’s “Duchess
of __”11 Put on a spare
tire?12 Upper hand15 Greets someone
with more than anod
18 LXX x X22 MSNBC rival24 Vietnamese
holiday markingthe arrival ofspring
26 Ottoman big shots27 Talked a blue
streak?28 Musical speeds29 French article30 Shade of green31 Leaves for lunch?32 Speak one’s mind33 Successor to 30-
Across35 Pizazz36 Tina of “30 Rock”
40 Tree oftenbrought into thehouse
42 Illinois River port43 French
pilgrimage site44 DH’s stat45 Can opener47 When doubled,
sister of Eva50 A stripper takes it
off51 Arctic diver
52 Genesis shepherd53 1970 Kinks classic54 It’s perpendicular
to a threshold55 “The Time
Machine” race57 Vagabond58 “Take a Chance
on Me” quartet59 Dressy duds60 Thumbs-up votes63 Former French
coin
Tuesday’s Puzzle SolvedBy Don Gagliardo and C.C. Burnikel 9/14/11
(c)2011 Tribune Media Services, Inc. 9/14/11
Sports8
September 14, 2011 [email protected]
Weekly Column
Follow us on Twitter @sundialsports57 for play-by-play coverage of CSUN sporting events
No Mo’ Romo, PleaseMove over, Lebron, Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo is America’s biggest choker
spotlightWhat are the Matadors saying on the social network?
Real tough week to be Tony Romo!@Jason_Flowers Jason Flowers, women’s basketball head coach.#quarterbacksBetterThanRomo Sunshine from “Remember the Titans”Sept. 12
Yeah, parking’s a ... mess.@SmoovSteph Stephan Hicks, men’s basketballIts a great feeling when you dont have to worry about monday classes.Sept. 11
We speak sarcasm, but all we can say is: we actually do support you.@m_abalos30 Michael Abalos, men’s soccerWho’s hot who’s not! Thanks for the support @dailysundialSept. 13
Props to the man. First time we hear anyone call the valley “beautiful.”@JO3FRANCO Joe Franco, men’s soccerhorrible weather rain/thunderstorms out here in new mexico...cant wait to come back to the beautifully hot valley of northridge!Sept. 9
One can see just how thirsty Raider fans are for some success.@coachbbras Bobby Braswell, men’s basketball head coachSomebody pinch me. The Raiders are in first place!!! Does it get any better than this???Sept. 12
What’s your team, coach?@CoachTrutanic Mario Trutanic, women’s basketball assistant coachRaiders fan are the most delusional fans on earth. #lastplaceagainSept. 12
Sundial sports columnist Ron Rokhy (see above) agrees. @AJiles24 Allen Jiles IV, men’s basketballRomo is a choke artistSept. 11
Guess AJ’s going to start going early to make sure he gets his seat.@AJiles24 Allen Jiles IV, men’s basketballI hate when i walk in class and see somebody sittin in the seat i been in since the first week of schoolSept. 13
by SundialSportS deSk@SundIAlSporTS57
Only one week’s gone by in the 2011 NFL regular season and we can already see it’s going to be a year dominated by quarterbacks, even with Peyton Manning out of action.
Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers did what was expected of them, Cam New-ton and Ryan Fitzpatrick went well beyond what anyone anticipated, and then, of course, we have your bottom-of-the-barrel performers like Donovan McNabb.
Even worse than McNabb’s 39 total Week-1 passing yards: Tony Romo’s latest flub.
The Dallas Cowboys entered this year hoping to forget last season’s blun-der which ended with a playoff-less 6-10 record. However, what they’ve gotten so far is more of the same: Romo and his inability to lead them in crucial moments.
With about a minute left in a 24-24 tie with the New York Jets Sunday night, Romo threw an interception, his
second fourth-quarter turnover, when he forced a pass to Dez Bryant, which led to a game-winning 50-yard field goal by Nick Folk.
Heartbreak isn’t new to the Cow-boys as they’ve witnessed Romo choke away decisive games year after year. However, owner Jerry Jones seems to be delusional, as he told ESPN Dallas on Tuesday, “I thought Romo played one of the best games I’ve seen him play.”
If that’s the best Romo has to offer, then Jones can forget about his cham-pionship aspirations, because at this point, trading Romo seems to be the only available option.
It’s quite clear: Romo is not what the Cowboys need, and for them to reach their true potential as an elite-level team, he needs to be traded.
In 2009, Jones stated that he “wouldn’t trade Romo for nobody,” but he should seriously reconsider that right now because Romo is the poster boy for athletes that choke under pres-sure, even surpassing the notorious LeBron James.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not questioning Romo’s skill as a player; he has a career QB rating of 95.6 and has two 4200-yard/25-TD seasons under his belt, but the problems lie with his poor decision-making during crunch time and his inability to put away oppo-nents, both of which are qualities found in championship-caliber quarterbacks.
Romo’s first big choke-job was in the 2007 playoffs against the Seat-tle Seahawks, when he botched his center’s snap as the Cowboys were attempting a potential game-winning 19-yard field goal. He lost control of the football, got it back, then attempted to run it in for a touchdown, but was stopped just short of the goal line. Dal-
las ended up losing 21-20.His next mishap occurred when the
13-3 Cowboys faced the New York Giants in next year’s playoffs. Start-ing from the Giants’ 48-yard line, with 1:50 left in the fourth quarter and his team down by four, Romo could only advance 25 yards before throwing a game-ending interception in the end zone.
Continuing his trend of playoff fail-ures, the Romo-led Cowboys lost to the Eagles 44-6 in the 2009 playoffs. Romo’s embarrassing stat-line: 183 yards, no touchdowns, one interception and two lost fumbles.
The following year wasn’t much better. Romo again showed his inability to handle pressure as he had four turn-overs and his team was pummelled by the Minnesota Vikings, 34-3.
But an alarming trend started last season: Romo’s playoff shortcomings began infecting his regular-season play, something he’s generally good at.
During the 2010 regular season, Romo lost five of his first six games before going down with a season-end-ing broken collarbone at the hands of Giants’ linebacker Michael Boley. In those six games, he threw seven inter-
ceptions.With the nightmare of a Week 1
Romo had, it doesn’t look like the trend will change.
Romo’s only getting worse, and the Cowboys have too good a receiv-ing core to rely on someone who can’t convert in the clutch. Five years of failure in a row is too many, and it’s time to let go.
Perhaps Romo should take lessons from Dallas Mavericks’ forward Dirk Nowitzki on how to go from choker to closer, or better yet, maybe Jones will come to his senses and just trade him.
CourteSy of MCT
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo (9) leaves the scene of his latest fourth-quarter collapse, MetLife Stadium, home of the New York Jets. On Sunday, Dallas led 24-10 in the fourth before two Romo turnovers fueled a furious Jets’ comeback. Dallas ended up losing, 27-24.
RuMbLiNg wiTh RON
RON ROKhYSundial SportS columniSt